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Cancer Summaries & Commentaries Vol. 1, No. 4

Release Date: October 31, 2008
Expiration Date: October 31, 2009

Publication Overview

Authors

Medical writer: Paul Card, PhD; Reviewed by: Suresh Ramalingam, MD

Overview and Purpose

Currently, the only targeted agent to have improved the efficacy of first-line chemotherapy in advanced non–small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is a monoclonal antibody (MoAb) targeting vascular endothelial growth factor. Approximately half of patients with NSCLC, including those with squamous cell carcinoma, central nervous system metastases, and a prior history of hemoptysis, however, are ineligible for MoAb therapy due to safety concerns. Several clinical trials are testing additional novel agents, such as MoAbs targeting epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) or insulin-like growth factor-1 receptor (IGF-1R) in combination with standard chemotherapy regimens in patients with advanced NSCLC in an effort to increase efficacy, decrease toxicities, and expand the treatment-eligible patient population. Other studies are investigating novel cytotoxic agents and/or inhibitors of EGFR signaling or angiogenesis in combination with chemoradiation therapy for unresectable locally advanced NSCLC in order to improve outcomes for these patients.

The purpose of this activity is to inform physicians about advances in the integration of targeted agents into treatment regimens for patients with metastatic and locally advanced NSCLC.

Target Audience

This activity is intended for medical oncologists involved in the care of patients with lung cancer. No specific skills or knowledge other than a basic training in oncology is required for successful participation in this activity.

Learning Objectives

Upon completion of this educational activity, you should be able to:

  • Evaluate the efficacy and safety of adding an anti-EGFR antibody to first-line chemotherapy in metastatic NSCLC
  • Assess the activity and adverse event profile of an antibody targeting IGF-R plus a platinum-based regimen in advanced NSCLC
  • Discuss clinical data on the addition of an anti-EGFR antibody to chemoradiation therapy in locally advanced NSCLC
  • Appraise the feasibility of incorporating antiangiogenic and anti-EGFR agents into combined modality therapy in locally advanced NSCLC

Instructions for Participation

  1. Read the following information before entering the educational activity.
  2. Complete the Pretest
  3. Study the educational activity.
  4. Complete the CME test.
  5. Answer the evaluation questions.
  6. After successful completion of the CME test and evaluation, you will receive your certificate of credit online.

CME credit will be granted for only 1 form of participation, either online or via the printed publication.

Read all of the conditions in the Activity Terms box below. You must accept the Activity Terms in order to continue:

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It is the policy of Physicians’ Education Resource to ensure balance, independence, objectivity, and scientific rigor in all of its educational activities. As an organization accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), Physicians’ Education Resource requires everyone who is in a position to control the content of an educational activity, including spouses/partners, to disclose all relevant financial relationships with any commercial interest. The ACCME defines “relevant financial relationships” as financial relationships in any amount occurring within the past 12 months that create a conflict of interest. Physicians’ Education Resource has implemented a mechanism to identify and resolve all conflicts of interest prior to the activity.

Corey J. Langer, MD, FACP
Research Funding – Active Biotech AB; Amgen; AstraZeneca; Bristol-Myers Squibb Company; Celgene Corporation; Cell Therapeutics, Inc.; Eli Lilly and Company; Genentech, Inc.; MedImmune, Inc.; Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc.; Ortho Biotech Products, L.P.; Pfizer Inc.; sanofi-aventis U.S.; Schering-Plough Corporation; Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated
Paid Consultant – Amgen; AstraZeneca;, Bayer Pharmaceuticals Corporation; Bristol-Myers Squibb Company; Genentech, Inc.; GlaxoSmithKline; ImClone Systems Incorporated; IntraBiotics Pharmaceuticals, Inc.; Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc.; Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation; Pfizer Inc.; Pharmacyclics; sanofi-aventis U.S.
Speaker’s Bureau – Bristol-Myers Squibb Company; Eli Lilly and Company; Genentech, Inc.; Ortho Biotech Products, L.P.; sanofi-aventis U.S.

Suresh Ramalingam, MD
Paid Consultant – Eli Lilly and Company; Genentech, Inc.
Speaker’s Bureau – Eli Lilly and Company; Genentech, Inc.

PER Editorial Staff
No relevant relationships to disclose

This CME activity might include discussion of investigational and/or unlabeled uses of drugs. If the activity includes discussion of investigational and/or unlabeled uses of a drug, specific information is located on the title page. Please refer to the full prescribing information for each drug discussed in this newsletter for FDA-approved dosing, indications, and warnings.

Commercial Support
An educational grant for this activity was provided by Bristol-Myers Squibb/ImClone Systems.

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Illustration

Schematic illustration of a computed tomography scan of pulmonary adenocarcinoma in the right lobe

Disclaimer

The views and opinions expressed in this activity are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the sponsor, supporter, or publisher. Although great care has been taken in compiling and checking the information given in this activity to ensure accuracy, the authors, and Physicians’ Education Resource and its servants or agents shall not be responsible or in any way liable for the continued currency of the information or for any errors, omissions, or inaccuracies in this activity, whether arising from negligence or otherwise howsoever or for any consequences arising therefrom.

Please consult full prescribing information for any drugs or procedures discussed within.

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©Copyright 2008 by Physicians’ Education Resource. No material may be reproduced in whole or in part, in any form, without written permission from the publisher.

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Editor, Cancer Summaries & Commentaries
Physicians’ Education Resource
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Educational Grants

An educational grant for this activity was provided by:


  1. Bristol-Myers Squibb/
    ImClone Systems